1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a blood testing unit for use in performing a test of blood of humans and other animals. This invention also relates to a blood testing method and apparatus using the blood testing unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
As blood testing units for use in performing tests of blood of humans and other animals, blood testing units comprising a slide-shaped support and a reagent layer carried on the slide-shaped support, which reagent layer is capable of undergoing a reaction with blood plasma or blood serum and forming a predetermined color, have heretofore been proposed. The blood testing units are proposed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,901.
In cases where the blood testing units described above are utilized, blood plasma or blood serum is spotted onto the reagent layer of the blood testing unit. Thereafter, light is irradiated to the reagent layer having formed a color, and an intensity of light reflected from the reagent layer is measured. In this manner, a concentration of a specific substance contained in the blood plasma or the blood serum, or the like, is capable of being quantitatively analyzed in accordance with the intensity of the reflected light. An example of an analysis apparatus for performing the blood tests in the manner described above is also disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,051,901.
In cases where the aforesaid blood testing units comprising the slide-shaped support and the reagent layer carried on the slide-shaped support are utilized, the blood plasma or the blood serum is exposed on the blood testing unit to the exterior all the time during the blood test. Therefore, there is the risk that persons in charge of the blood tests will come in touch with the blood plasma or the blood serum by mistake and will catch an infectious disease, such as HIV.
Accordingly, in order to eliminate the problems described above, a blood testing unit comprising a transparent tubular vessel and a reagent fixed within the tubular vessel has been proposed in, for example, European Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1018648. In cases where the proposed blood testing unit is utilized, whole blood is introduced into the tubular vessel and is subjected to a centrifugal separation process. Also, the blood plasma or the blood serum, which has been separated from solid constituents, is brought into contact with the reagent having been fixed within the tubular vessel, and results of reaction of the reagent, such as color formation, are inspected visually or with measurement of intensity of reflected light. Therefore, with the proposed blood testing unit, after the whole blood has been introduced into the tubular vessel, the blood test is capable of being performed such that the person in charge of the blood test may not come in touch with blood constituents.
However, in cases where the blood testing unit proposed in European Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1018648 is utilized, after a blood sample has been introduced into the tubular vessel, the tubular vessel must be set on a centrifugal separator and must then be taken out of the centrifugal separator. Therefore, considerable time and labor are required to perform the blood test.